Staple fiber cutter



Dec.5,195 0 E. NEW 2 532,458

STAPLE FIBER CUTTER Filed Aug. 25. 1947 v v INVENTOR. HARRY 5 NEW BY j Patented Dec. 5, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STAPLE FIBER CUTTER Harry E. New, Chester, Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application August 25, 1947, Serial No. 770,434

5 Claims.

to support the tow in, or bring the tow into, cutting relationship with the knife in which there is continuous relative motion between the shear member and the knife.

It is already known in the art to cut freshly spun artificial filament bundles in a continuous operation, whereby the thread bundles are passed in an axial direction through a guiding channel into a rotating disc. The thread bundle passes out the periphery of the rotating disc where it is cut by means of stationary knives. Depending upon thespeed of rotation of the disc and upon the number of cutting knives arranged around the circumference of the said disc it is possible to cut the thread bundles into staples of varying lengths based upon the operating speed. In the cutting devices used heretofore, excessive wear is produced on both the cutter member and shear member because the impact of the filament bundles on the cutting edge causes the cutting member to move toward or press harder against the shear member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means to absorb the shock due to the impact of the filament bundles n the cutter edges in such a manner as to reduce the wear on the knife and shear member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a means for producing a heterogeneous distribution of staple fiber lengths in each bundle of filaments cut.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from a study of the drawing and the description thereof hereinafter.

In the drawings illustrative of the invention,

Figure 1 is an elevational view of one form of the invention, and

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof.

In the drawing accompanying this specification reference character 1 indicates a base or frame in which is mounted the circular disc or wheel 2 secured on a rotatable shaft 3 and driven by means of a pulley 4.

The disc 2 is provided with an entrance funnel 5 into which the material to be cut is fed. From the funnel 5 a guiding channel 6 extends radially outwardly to the periphery of the disc for the 2 purpose of throwing the fiber bundle into engagement with the cutting knife I, which may be close to the disc periphery or in contact with the disc periphery.

In the apparatus comprising this invention the cutting knife 'I is mounted to oscillate relatively to the centrifugal disc about its axis. In order to cause the knife I to oscillate it is mounted on an arm 9, rotatably mounted on the bearing sleeve in which may be fixedly secured in the frame I and within which the shaft 3 may also rotate.

A shock-absorbing means ii is suitably secured to the arm 9 and the frame I so as to interconnect them. As shown, the shock absorber has a rod l2 loosely secured in an upstanding lug l3 on frame I. The rod has a piston i4 secured to one end and a cross piece ii at the other. A spring l6 bears'against one face of the piston and one end of a cylinder II, which cylinder is secured to a plate l8 from which a pin l9 extends through a bore within the arm 9, so that the cylinder moves with arm 9 but may pivot with respect thereto.

Another spring 20 may be provided in cylinder II on the opposite side ofpiston M to cushion the return movement of the system.

In operation, the disc 2 may be rotated at any desired speed. If it has a high speed, centrifugal force alone may be adequate to feed the material to be cut through the channel 6. Regardless of the speed, a fiuid blast, such as of air or water, may be used to assist the feeding of material through the channel 6. In either case, rotation of disc 2 presents material to the knife I periodically for cutting. When the material projecting outwardly from the disc strikes the knife, the impact swings the knife-supporting arm 9 through an arc of more or less magnitude depending on the resiliency of the spring I]. During such swing the impact is absorbed and the fact that the arc is concentric with the disc periphery minimizes any wear which would otherwise result from the tendency of the knife to move toward and bind against the disc periphery because of the impact of the material during cutting. When the are of swing of the knife is small, such as about 5, and filamentary bundles are cut to staple fiber, the product is in most cases of substantially uniform length. However, the system can be modified to provide arcs of swing of the knife as high as 15 to 30 in which case, the fiber product comprises individual fibers of various lengths, which may have specialized utility.

It is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the 3 spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Cutting apparatus comprising a rotatable disc-like shear member having a channel for guiding material to be cut outwardly through the disc periphery, a knife having a cutting edge adjacent the periphery ofthe shear member for cutting the material, a, support for the knife, means for mounting the support for rotation on the axis of the shear member. means for rotating the shear member, a stationary frame member, and shock-absorbing means interconnecting the support with the frame member for permitting a limited swinging motion of the support.

2. Cutting apparatus in accordance with claim edge adjacent the disc periphery, means for ro- 1 in which the shock-absorbing means comprises a resilient spring.

3. Cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the knife is in contact with the periphery of the shear member at all times during operation. g

4. Cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 3 comprising additional resilient means for cushioning the return swing of the support.

tating' the shaft, and resilient shock-absorbing means connected to the knife and to the frame member for permitting limited swinging movement of the knife in an arc concentric with the axis of rotation of the disc.

. HARRY E. NEW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

